


Five things about you

by ElsaFH (Elsa0806)



Series: AtsuHina Week 2020 [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Princess Diaries Fusion, Alternate Universe - Royalty, AtsuHina Week, AtsuHina Week 2020, Feral Miya Atsumu, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hinata Shouyou-centric, M/M, Miya Atsumu is a Little Shit, Pining Hinata Shouyou, Prince Hinata Shouyou, Prince Miya Atsumu, Sexual Content, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:27:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24638317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elsa0806/pseuds/ElsaFH
Summary: AtsuHina Week, Day 4: Royalty AU.Hinata Shouyou discovers five things about Prince Miya Atsumu of Inarizaki and one thing about the two of them.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Series: AtsuHina Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777000
Comments: 24
Kudos: 227





	Five things about you

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! Eli here with my fourth entry for this year's AtsuHina Week!
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos on the previous one-shots ;^; I'm still so soft because of them. As in... I'm a plushie at the moment. I'm _that_ soft. 
> 
> Before I forget because of my Softness™, this fic has sexual content. It's not _that_ explicit and it isn't down-right smut, but it's there and I want you all to be warned about it. One can never be too careful these days. 
> 
> Also, please enjoy Atsumu being the cocky bastard we all know and love (I'm lying, he's an idiot and a simp. And honestly? Same) and Shouyou being done. 
> 
> Without further ado, I'll let you to read. I really hope you enjoy today's entry! I had a lot of fun writing it. 
> 
> See you at the end notes! 

“Huh— mom?”

His mother’s shoulders tensed under his gaze and something akin to a hunch stirred inside of his stomach. Her brown eyes stared at him for a few long seconds before she sighed, defeated, her shoulders sagging as if an unbearable weight had fallen on top of her.

“Shouyou,” she began. There was something weird on her voice and Hinata had the burning need of shuffling uncomfortably on his spot right in the living room. “This is Daichi-san.”

Amber eyes fell on the man sitting in front of her mother, occupying the love seat. There was a cup of steaming tea in between his hands and before he sipped at it, he directed an apologetic smile in his direction. He looked kind and open, the kind of person Shouyou expected to be a teacher of some sorts.

“Good afternoon, Hinata-san,” he greeted, placing the cup on the coffee table. Shouyou’s fists loosened and tightened at each side of his body while he tried with all his might not to shift his weight from foot to foot. “I’m Sawamura Daichi. Nice to meet you.”

“Uh— hello? Hinata Shouyou,” he droned on, gulping. Daichi’s brown eyes were apologetic too, making sirens go off in Hinata’s head.

“I’m sure you’re wondering what’s happening,” the stranger offered. Hinata gave in to the temptation and shifted his weight from his right foot to his left, clearing his throat. The sideways glance his mother had just given him said there was something absolutely horrible about to happen and he wasn’t really sure if he was ready for whatever that thing was. “We have a lot to talk about. Why don’t you sit?”

The fact that a complete stranger was inviting him to sit down _on his own home_ went over his head as he obeyed mechanically and plopped down on the free loveseat. For some reason he couldn’t quite put his finger on, the calm smile Daichi was directing at him made some sort of dread rise in his stomach. It felt like those terrible five minutes before the teacher handled the tests, the explanation stretching like a bubble-gum before they finally gave the order to begin.

Shouyou swallowed, grimacing at the dry feeling of his throat. He could feel the lump beginning to form right behind his tongue, underneath his uvula. He’d be lucky if by the end of whatever was about to happen he didn’t have to excuse himself to go scream into a pillow.

Once Daichi was sure Hinata was comfortably sitting and that he was _not_ going to have a panic attack, he started explaining who he was and what he was doing there. His voice was soothing, Shouyou had to at least give him that albeit his information definitely being the least soothing thing he’d ever heard in his nineteen years walking the Earth.

Half an hour later, Shouyou’s eyebrows flew to his hairline in disbelief. Blinking slowly as if to try to clear his vision, like he could change the reality that unfolded in front of him if he managed to stop the world from blurring, he stared at his mother in utter confusion before turning his eyes to Daichi. The atmosphere around them was thick enough to weigh down on him, a bead of sweat making its way slowly down his temple.

“Let me get this straight,” he wheezed with a tired smile pulling at the corner of his lips. It was a joke. It _had_ to be a joke, right? There was no way _in hell_ what Daichi said was true. In what world was he— “you’re telling me, _me_ , that I’m… what was the title again?”

“Prince,” Daichi answered, smiling once again. His smile felt fake. Why did it feel fake? Easy: just another proof of how all of this was a scam. Shouyou was absolutely sure some prank TV show was messing with him. “Royal Prince of the kingdom of Karasuno.”

“That’s a good joke,” he giggled. “Now, where’re the cameras?”

“Shouyou,” his mom piped in, looking at him after at least fifteen minutes. There was a furious blush masking her face; it looked like she was going down with a fever. Hinata swallowed around the lump in his throat and took a sharp inhale that whistled in his nose. “He’s telling the truth. Your father—”

“The one that never showed up? Not even for my birthdays? Not when my sister was born? Great dad.”

“ _Shouyou_.”

“What? You know I’m just—”

“He never showed up because _I asked him not to_ ,” she snapped, positively making him press his lips together to avoid the ranting that was about to fall from his mouth in a thread of curses. Her fingers pressed against the hem of her jeans, the nails turning a yellowish white hue due to the strength imprinted in the motion. “Our divorce wasn’t something neither of us wanted and having him showing up here…”

“So you just deprived me of my right to have a father? Way to go, mom.”

“Hinata-san,” Daichi intervened after clearing his throat. “His Majesty decided to agree to your mother’s petition because if he had a relationship with you and your sister, you’d grown up knowing who you were. He didn’t want that. The only reason as to why I’m here today to reveal you the truth is because your uncle, who was supposed to ascend to the throne next month, abdicated. And the queen recently passed away.”

“There’s no other heir to take the throne?”

“There are a few, but that would mean the crown would leave the Hinata family and pass on to the Kageyama family. We don’t know how long it would take before the crown returns to its rightful owner.”

“And that’s bad because…?”

“It isn’t. It’s just not preferable. The main heir of the Hinata House has already abdicated and having the next in line do the same would deeply hurt the family’s name. The family would never recover from such a blow.”

Oh, so _that_ was the problem. Names and reputations. Things Shouyou didn’t want to get involved with but seemed he was already, since before he was even born. That was outrageous. No one had ever asked him if he wanted to become the king of some godforsaken kingdom whose name wasn’t even in history books. And honestly, monarchy in the twenty first century? What was wrong with them?

He couldn’t say too much though, Japan was a democratic monarchy—

“Shouyou-kun.”

Was it really that important for him to ascend to the throne? He didn’t want to. His entire idea of his future had just gone to shit with one royal advisor showing up —uninvited— at the door of his house in Miyagi. He’d been living a peaceful life up until then; friends, school, volleyball, this cute girl from the other class he was starting to crush on—

“ _Shouyou-kun_.”

It wasn’t really his problem if he decided to abdicate and the name of the family fell in disgrace was it? He was his own person after all. He had no obligation whatsoever to a family he’d never gotten involved with, it didn’t really matter that his education, his food, his clothes and everything he owned (and everything his mother and his sister owned) came from the royal family’s money. And giving it a thought wasn’t that like, misuse of Karasuno’s money? Didn’t that money come from taxes—

“ _Shouyou-kun!_ ”

Hinata snaps out of his thoughts with the feeling that he’s crashed against a truck going at full speed. He blinks owlishly to the person who’s just yelled his name, confusion drawn in every single line of his face while his fingers tap nervously against his thigh. A smile that tries to be innocent pulls at the corners of his mouth while hazel eyes look at him like he’s the biggest disgrace that has ever existed.

“Were ya payin’ attention?”

The person in front of him is roughly six feet two, with the dark brown hair on top of his head dyed a pretty ash blond, and he looks _angry_. Shouyou would wholeheartedly agree with whoever said that the man looking at him like he’s his personal pain in the ass was basically sculpted by the angels themselves…

“Ya weren’t payin’ attention. What a scrub.”

…but he would also slap him across the face at the slightest chance. Miya Atsumu, the young man that’s sitting across the table with a book open in front of him is twenty years old, is amongst the most handsome men in the world (literally, Shouyou saw his picture in the internet with the “top 100 hottest men in the world”, something Atsumu won’t let him forget either), speaks at least six languages, and has the worst personality Shouyou’s ever seen. He’s _rotten_. Hinata can’t help but think that Miya Atsumu, Prince Heir to the throne of Inarizaki, is the typical rich, spoiled kid with a future in politics because daddy is important too. He sometimes wishes his dead grandmother had chosen his brother, Osamu, the nicer twin, to tutor him into this of “being a proper prince”.

What a bunch of bullcrap if you ask him.

“No, sorry,” Hinata answers, innocently, batting his eyelashes in the same way he’s seen Natsu do thousands of times to get out of trouble. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work. But Shouyou isn’t looking to get out of trouble; on the contrary. He’s trying _to get into them_. “The bad dye work on top of your head keeps distracting me.”

Atsumu’s hazel eyes fix on him over the frame of his rectangular glasses. There’s a murderous glint in those irises that makes Shouyou giggle.

“Say, Shouyou-kun,” he starts, delicately closing the book in front of him. The big volume snaps closed with a deep _thump_ that sparks specks of dust all around it, sending them into a sinuous dance in and out of the golden sunlight that falls in broad angles from the tall windows. “Ya think bein’ this mean ta me will make ya grow or somethin’?” 

“Mhm,” Shouyou hums, smiling from ear to ear. From the moment Atsumu stepped into the library and commented on _how short_ he was, Hinata has never felt really prone to be nice with him. It doesn’t really help that he’s never dropped the topic of his height either. “I won’t know until I try, right?”

“Ya still gotta learn this,” Atsumu comments, shrugging one shoulder as he taps the book cover. The _tac-tac_ of the tip of his fingers hitting the volume in a constant rhythm matches the one Shouyou uses to tap his own thigh. “Ya know what’ll happen if ya don’t learn it?”

“I’ll fail?”

“Ya really think it’s that simple, Shouyou-kun?” he snorts, sliding the book away from him at the same time he pushes the chair with the back of his knees so he can stand up comfortably. He’s _tall_ and Hinata feels a pang of jealousy nailing him in the pit of his stomach. He also feels something hot swirling too close to his groin for comfort and decides that biting the inside of his cheek is a good distraction from _whatever_ that is. “If ya forget a law, a single borderline treaty, or maybe just _one_ trade contract with my kingdom, for example… what dja think might happen?”

Hinata considers the possible outcomes for a second. He opens his mouth to snort a snarky reply but stops a few seconds later. His teeth clack when he presses his lips together with violence, which earns him a lopsided smile coming from Atsumu.

“War. That’s one of the things that might happen. The United Nations might even block yer trades— that’d be terrible fer yer people wouldn’t it? Poverty, risin’ unemployment numbers, havin’ ta take money from the crown’s arcs…”

“Okay! I get it! It’s bad! Stop being an asshole about it!”

Atsumu’s smile tilts a bit more while the tips of his fingers press against the mahogany table. His hand looks like a pale spider, fingers bent by the middle crease as he leans forward over the wooden surface, towering over Shouyou with a deadly gaze on those hazel eyes that look at him through his glasses. He’s on the edge of Hinata’s personal space, his breath brushing against his face.

“See, Shouyou-kun,” he begins. He looks like a fox, ready to sink his fangs into the flesh of Hinata’s neck… which makes him the rabbit. “My kingdom and yers have been economic partners fer centuries. Can’t even count how many. So if ya fuck somethin’ up ‘cause ya were too much of a scrub ta learn what ya had ta learn…”

“What’re you gonna do, sue me?”

“Nah, that’s way too basic fer me. ’m a man of action,” Atsumu chuckles. “No, I might fuck around a little… and declare war on yer country. So be careful.”

* * *

By the fourth month Hinata’s been on the kingdom he’s bound to become the king of, he’s discovered five things about Miya Atsumu.

First, he loves his kingdom deeply. That almost-too-real declaration of war might have looked like someone taking advantage of the situation, bluffing to look cool— but Hinata discovers that’s not as true as he’d like it to be. Atsumu _is_ indeed the kind of person who’d bluff to look cool if he’s got the chance but the way he studies and prepares so hard for his future as king makes Shouyou think that he’s everything Hinata’s not able to be. There’s some sort of sad beauty to his efforts; he’s willing to let go of the things he loves the most if he can make sure his kingdom is safe. Shouyou isn’t really sure if he’ll be able to love his country as much as Miya Atsumu loves his.

The big difference between them, Hinata realizes, lies on how much of their lives they’ve dedicated to their kingdoms. Atsumu’s been preparing for the throne his whole life; he’s developed tight bonds with his land and his people. He was born in Inarizaki, went to school in Inarizaki, had his first girlfriend in Inarizaki. Everything he is and everything he’ll ever be is tied to the land where he and his twin had seen the day’s light for the first time. His parents, his grandparents— his entire family has deep roots on the fertile soil of the island. Whereas Shouyou… he was born on Karasuno, but he was merely a few months old when his mother and his father divorced and she moved to Japan. He has no ties whatsoever to the royal family except his DNA and at this point he isn’t really sure that’s a real reason to accept the throne. Maybe they should turn to the good old direct democracy and stop this archaic nonsense.

The way Atsumu talks about his kingdom, however, makes Hinata think. Whenever he eavesdrops —without meaning to— Atsumu and his adviser’s conversations, he always sounds worried. Worried about the healthcare system, about the education system, about the safety of his people. How are the crime statistics doing? Are teachers getting paid the way they should?

Atsumu seems to be so invested in making his country a better place for tomorrow’s generations that Hinata can’t help but reconsider his own position. His kingdom his wealthy enough to not have too many problems, and what’s better— everyone gets benefit from said wealth. It’s a beautiful country, well educated, well cared for in every sense of the word. The royal family and the Parliament have done an excellent job and he can’t complain, even though there are some issues that need to be taken care of.

It’s Atsumu’s dedication to his people and the crown he’s bound to inherit what sparkles some sort of interest in Shouyou. He’s got the power to change things for the better, he’ll have a voice that thousands of people will listen. He’ll have the chance to engrave Karasuno’s name in history books. Is he really willing to give up on that?

It’s complicated to balance the boy he was before arriving to Karasuno and his worries with the person he is now and his current worries. The boy he used to be when he lived in Japan would’ve never thought he’d have to prepare to rule a kingdom someday, and the person he is now doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to do such a thing. Granted, he can learn everything Atsumu and his professors are teaching him, can memorize every boundary treaty his nation has ever signed, get to know every trade contract his kingdom has ever made part of like the back of his hand… but that doesn’t guarantee that he’s _suitable_ for the position.

He gulps at the thought, taken aback by how much that stings. Maybe he’s not suitable for the position and he should step aside and let the Kageyama family rule the country. They have very ounce of blue blood he has and their heir, Kageyama Miwa, has been preparing for this her whole life. Very much like Atsumu for Inarizaki’s crown, Miwa looks like the logical option in this situation.

But what surprises him the most is the raw desire of being suitable for it. He finds himself _wanting_ to become someone worthy of Karasuno’s crown, someone who’ll make his kingdom grow and become something almost legendary. Something that’ll be written in history books and that’ll have his sign at the footer.

So yeah, sue him. It’s thanks to Atsumu that Shouyou discovers he does want to learn whatever boring things his professors (and Atsumu himself) want to teach him. He also learns that he’s terrified of not being able to fill the position.

The second thing he discovers about Atsumu is that he’s allergic to cats.

It’s been four months and two weeks since he, his sister Natsu, and his mother have moved to Karasuno. Shouyou is pretty sure he’s explored every corner, hallway, room, vault, and dungeon that can possibly exist in the castle and the way he can find his room without even blinking kind of supports his theory.

His sister adapted to her new life faster than he did and that’s something she’ll never let him live down. Shouyou believes women have some sort of chip in their brains that lets them be ready for any situation and he isn’t surprised when he finds out that he’s jealous. It was so easy for her to just spend a week in the castle and then behave like she’d never lived anywhere else that he starts to wonder if he’s in the wrong by feeling homesick.

Turns out that his sister is _so comfortable_ living in Karasuno that the moment she starts going to school and finds a stray kitten near the entrance of the building, she brings it with her without asking anyone. The answer to the question as to why she’d thought they could take care of an animal was a simple “aren’t we royalty?” that left their mother with a confused look on her face and the inevitable consequence of having to take care of the little, ill-mannered kitten.

That had happened three months ago, and Shouyou’s just discovering Atsumu is allergic to Tora (“ _such an original name, Nacchan. Congrats_ ”) because he kind of screeches when he sees Hinata holding the feline like a baby.

They’re in the middle of some hallway of the fourth floor. It’s the floor the royal family uses when all the other rooms are stacked and there’s some sort of… political thingy going on. Hinata remembers having heard Daichi (the royal adviser) telling him about how no one ever uses it anymore because the amount political gatherings had dropped over the centuries and had definitely gone down with the existence of Skype and other meanings of fast, long distance communication of the sorts.

“Wow,” Shouyou breathes out, fixing his stare on Tora. The cat looks up at him with its big, green eyes and blinks slowly two times, looking as confused as Shouyou feels. “You really learned how to project your voice.”

“Very funny,” Atsumu snorts, wrinkling his nose. Is it just him or his eyes look watery? “Can ya, huh— let that… ” Atsumu vaguely gestures towards the animal in Shouyou’s arms, waves his fingers in their general direction while taking a careful step backwards.

“Cat, Atsumu-san. It’s a _cat_ ,” Hinata supplies.

“I know what it is!” he snaps. Shouyou giggles at that, tries his best not to smile from ear to ear and dwell in the affection that swirls in his chest. Upon realizing how endearing he finds Atsumu’s reaction, his fingers tense around Tora’s ribcage and the cat lets out an annoyed snort. “Cantcha… y’know. Get it away from me?”

Tora decides by itself that it doesn’t want to be in Shouyou’s arms and after scratching the back of his right hand with an angry huff it hops off and trots away through the hallway. Shouyou loses track of it when the cat turns on a corner and its tail disappears behind a suspiciously shiny plant in a red flowerpot.

“There goes my chance of patting its belly,” Hinata whines, rubbing soothing circles at the angry red line on the back of his hand. The scratch has a few drops of blood already and he wipes it off with the tip of his thumb. “What, are you scared of cats or something?”

“Very mature of ya, makin’ fun of someone else’s fears. Didn’t expect it from ya, Shouyou-kun,” his voice is still a little bit shaky and his eyes definitely look watery. It isn’t an optical illusion and Shouyou is suddenly _very_ curious. “But no, I ain’t scared of cats. ‘m allergic to ‘em.”

“You’re allergic to cats?”

“Shockin’ huh?”

“But Tora’s been here for three months already—”

“And I had never swallowed _so many_ antihistamines in my entire life.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Atsumu blinks at him, surprised at how angry Shouyou’s voice sounds while it bounces off of the red and golden wallpaper. His words echo through the hallway and seem to attach themselves to the paintings on the walls, swirling around the suspiciously green plants placed a few feet apart along the length of the walls.

Hinata blushes to the root of his hair when he realizes how high-pitched he just sounded. The overwhelming heat on his face spreads a bit more when he notices the worry that coils in the pit of his stomach. He blinks back at Atsumu, opening his mouth to speak —to justify himself, to give some excuse, to joke, to say _something_ because he’s looking at Shouyou in a weird way and oh boy— but closing it a few seconds later without having said anything.

“This ain’t my house, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu simply says. It dawns on Shouyou that he’s been away from his kingdom and his family for four months already, making occasional trips to his home country but never staying longer than three days. Why does the royal family of Inarizaki allow _and encourage_ the heir of the crown to be away for such a long time is beyond his understanding, and something tells him it’s beyond Atsumu’s understanding too. But it’s then that Hinata realizes how much he’s given up to help him become the prince he’s supposed to be for the greater good of Karasuno. “I can’t go around demandin’ things. It doesn’t work that way for a foreigner, no matter how diplomatic y’all are.”

Hinata presses his lips together into a thin, pale line. He wants to say something (maybe apologize for the rude jokes he’s been making ever since Atsumu started teaching him how to become a proper prince?), _yearns_ for being able to find the right words. The problem is that he doesn’t really know what he wants to say, and it’s like this that he discovers the third thing about Miya Atsumu.

“What’re you doing here, anyway? No one uses this floor.”

Atsumu _blushes_ and Shouyou has two immediate reactions.

The first is to think that he looks _cute_ and the second one is wanting to slap himself as hard as he can to get rid of that thought.

“I got lost,” he whispers. His voice is so low that Shouyou has problems making out the words but once Atsumu’s sentence lands on his brain, Hinata has to swallow back the incredulous laughter that bubbles up his chest. He’s struggling with how ridiculous this situation is when Atsumu clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Ya find this real funny, dontcha?”

“I—” Shouyou inhales. “I do.”

He looks so offended that Shouyou can’t help but giggle.

“I’m sorry, it’s just— I didn’t think you were allergic to cats _and_ had a bad sense of direction. That’s all.”

His expression seems to soften at the palpable sincerity in Hinata’s voice. His shoulders sag a little, losing part of the tension that had him about to snap like the string of a violin, and he sighs deeply while running his fingers through his carefully styled hair. Shouyou’s eyes follow the motion as he wonders if the strands are as soft as they look and he once again has the burning need of slapping himself.

“Okay. So ya aren’t makin’ fun of me,” he sighs. There’s an edge of question sliding under his words that has Shouyou thinking that maybe he’s a little bit insecure. The discovery seems to sparkle some sort of fuzzy feeling across the marrow of his bones, tingling in his nerve ends. It spreads a pleasant warmth from the middle of his chest and makes blood rush to his cheeks.

“Where were you going?” the question is sparked by honest curiosity and by a desperate attempt of getting rid of those fuzzy feelings and those weird thoughts that seem to form a whirlpool in his mind.

“The… the kitchen.”

“The kitchen’s on the first floor.”

“I have a bad sense of direction, okay? Get off my case.”

Laughter bubbles up his throat but he pushes it back down with every ounce of willpower he has. He can’t believe he just discovered the third thing about him just after finding out the second.

“Want me to take you there?”

“What, ta the kitchen?”

“Yeah,” Hinata answers, shrugging, trying to make it seem as if it isn’t such a big deal when in reality his heart is hammering against the inside of his ribcage. It feels like he’s been running the world’s longest marathon and he wonders if this is going to keep happening. The idea makes him shiver in fear. “I’m craving some hot cocoa.”

“It’s the middle of summer, Shouyou-kun.”

“You guys at Inarizaki have seasons to drink hot cocoa or something?” he whines, frowning. “Shut up and follow me.”

For the first time ever since they met, four months ago, Atsumu does as Hinata says. He presses his lips together in a tight line that seems to show the physical effort he’s making to not smile, and Shouyou has to mirror his gesture to avoid smiling too.

He leads Atsumu through the castle with ease, turning in weird corners that make his companion frown with bad conceited distrust. Hinata swallows the snarky remarks at every eye twitch, trying with all his might to not drop the “don’t complain, you’re the one who got lost” bomb onto him. It’s the longest they’ve spent in silence and albeit never admitting in out loud, he’s quite comfortable. After ten minutes of wandering around the castle without having said anything, Shouyou discovers that he truly enjoys Atsumu’s company when he isn’t being a complete ass.

Once Shouyou jumps off from the third step of the stairs onto the carpet of the first floor, he turns on his heels to smile brightly at Atsumu. It didn’t take them longer than fifteen minutes to get there and it’s only a short way to the kitchen, and he’s about to say “mission accomplished!” when the softness in Atsumu’s eyes stops him dead in his tracks. The general expression of his face makes Shouyou’s heart skip a beat and his stomach clench, making him ignore the idea that Atsumu is looking at him with such fondness that he thinks he will melt into a puddle of something that used to be Hinata but is not anymore and _holy shit_. That’s the way people look at their significant other and _stop right there. This is nonsense_.

“Ah, the…” he begins, his voice coming out like broken glass dragging against the pavement. He clears his throat and tries again with a smile that he expects isn’t as tense as he feels it. “The kitchen’s over here.”

“Yah, yah, comin’.”

When they enter the _unnecessarily_ big kitchen of the castle, Shouyou’s nose picks up the smell of some stew simmering slowly on top of one of the stoves placed along the furthest wall. There’s a big cloud of steam ascending from the gap left by the lid that’s half-covering the food: it swirls up in the air and coils before being absorbed by the kitchen hood.

Hinata hears the distinctive sound of the fridge door being open and the rummaging of someone who doesn’t really know what to eat but is still trying to ease something that isn’t quite like hunger but feels sort of the same. It isn’t surprising to see Atsumu bent by the waist with almost his entire upper-half into the fridge, and while the other hums some song whose name Shouyou doesn’t really remember, he allows a fond smile to make its way to his lips.

“Say, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu calls, snapping Hinata out of his affection-induced-haze. He still has to come to terms with _that_. “Ya like peanut butter?”

“I like _what_?”

“Peanut butter,” Atsumu repeats, finally getting out of the fridge. He’s holding a jar of something Shouyou knows too well, the light-brown paste reaching almost the brim in evidence of no one really eating it. “I don’t know if ya had it in Japan…”

“Ah, yeah,” he blurts out, blinking in confusion. “Yes. Yeah! We have it. I don’t really… like it that much? It’s too sweet.”

“Sweet?”

“Yeah?”

Atsumu chuckles under his breath and takes a few strides towards the drawers, pulling at one and rummaging through one with a happy smile on his face that makes Shouyou feel a little bit confused. He knows there’s something missing in his part of this conversation, something that seems vital in these _trying times_. Trying because he’s really attempting to not let out a frustrated sigh.

“I don’t know how’s peanut butter in the country ya used ta live in,” Atsumu finally says, raising his hand to show Shouyou two teaspoons. He extends his hand, offering Hinata one of the spoons he’s holding while the fingers that hold the jar of peanut butter tap lightly against the blue and red tag, “but here in Karasuno and in Inarizaki, peanut butter is kinda salty.”

Hinata opens his mouth to correct Atsumu. _It’s not “the country I used to live in”, it’s “my country”_ , but then realizes the correction doesn’t really work. His country is the one he’s standing on at this exact second, not the one where he grew up. He really needs to get that fact through that thick skull of his or he’ll never be suitable for the position he’s entitled to by birth.

Closing his mouth without having said anything, Shouyou reaches out and grabs one of the spoons. The metal is slightly warm from its contact with Atsumu’s skin and he makes it spin absentmindedly, balancing the weight from both sides on the middle crease of his index finger. He tries his best not to cast a sideway glance to Atsumu, who’s currently whistling while he opens the jar of peanut butter with the same expression he’s seen his sister doing whenever she opens one of her birthday gifts, but fails miserably. He does nothing to stop the new smile that stretches on his lips, resigned in front of a battle he seemed to have lost the moment he started fighting it.

“What’re ya smilin’ for?” he asks. Hinata follows the motion of the spoon in his hand from the moment it sinks into the light brown, thick paste, to the second Atsumu’s lips envelop it and he sucks on the peanut butter stuck to the metal.

“You eat peanut butter straight out of the jar?”

“Yah?”

Hinata blinks up to him, leaning against the counter to just ogle incredulously at him. The marble edge of the worktop digs into the flesh of his middle, but he ignores just to pay attention at the smile that extends from the spoon in his mouth. Hazel eyes are fixed on amber ones as he hums happily around the spoonful of peanut butter and Shouyou sighs at the idea of having found out so many things about him in just one day.

“Give me some,” he says, listing everything in his head but trying to not pay too much attention to it because he will surely spontaneously combust if he does. “Don’t be greedy. Sharing is caring.”

“What if I don’t want ta share? Ya’ve been real cruel ta me, Shouyou-kun. Maybe this’s my revenge. Maybe Imma eat this whole jar of peanut butter without sparin’ a single spoonful. Ya don’t know me.”

Up until now, Shouyou’s discovered five things about Miya Atsumu. First, he loves his kingdom deeply and is willing to do anything to keep his people safe and happy. Second, he’s allergic to cats and is kind enough to not demand special measurements about it even though there’s a cat roaming the castle, which has him swallowing antihistamines like crazy. Third, he has no sense of direction whatsoever, which makes him really, really fun to mess with. Fourth, he eats peanut butter straight out of the jar like a complete scoundrel.

And fifth, Hinata Shouyou is deeply, hopelessly in love with him.

“You’re really annoying, has anyone ever told you that?”

“That’s my favourite song, actually,” he chuckles.

He extends the jar in his direction nonetheless, waiting for him to take a spoonful before placing it carefully on the counter. The plastic produces a muffled _tack_ against the marble and while Atsumu pushes it away from the edge and closer to the wall, Shouyou sniffs at the paste on his spoon with an evaluative frown deepening in between his eyebrows.

“What’s wrong, _yer highness_?”

Shouyou might be in love with him but that doesn’t change the fact that he has the constant need of whacking him on the top of his head. If he could reach it, that is.

“It smells _salty_ ,” Hinata complains.

“’Course is salty.”

“It’s sweet in Japan,” he whines. He feels like a petulant child demanding for something he knows he can’t have.

“The disrespect.”

Shouyou slides the flat of his tongue against the paste, tasting it with the utmost care. It definitely tastes like peanut and it definitely has the same texture he’s used to, but the general flavour of it is not the same. Although not unpleasant, he thinks he needs to develop the liking in the same way he had to learn to like natto.

“So? Whaddaya think?” Atsumu asks, mirroring Hinata by leaning against the counter. He crosses his ankles and points at Shouyou with the tip of his very clean spoon. “Ambrosia, ain’t it?”

“Salty.”

“I toldja didn’t I?”

“How do you eat this?” he genuinely wonders, humming in the back of his throat when the taste finally reaches its deepest texture. The warm feeling over his tongue is pleasant and definitely something he can get used to really easily. “I mean, what do you eat it _with_?”

“Jam, usually,” Atsumu answers, shrugging. “Strawberry jam’s my favourite ta eat with peanut butter.”

“Mhm.”

“Ya seem unusually interested in the things I like. What’s this, Shouyou-kun?” Atsumu teases, dedicating him a lopsided grin and a sharp stare of his half-lidded eyes. Shouyou swallows around the lump in his throat, refusing to recognize how that expression does _things_ to him. “Is it possible that ya were antagonizin’ me just ‘cause yer irremediably attracted ta me?”

“ _I_ was antagonizing you,” Hinata repeats, a sound of disbelief leaving his parted lips. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, deadly. Trust me. Who would’ve thought that yer attitude towards me was just bad contained sexual desire…?”

“It is _not_ —”

Shouyou’s cheeks are flushed a deep red and his heart beats rapidly against his ribcage. His chest heaves for air and he does his best not to pant because that would be definitely pathetic and the last thing he needs right now is for Atsumu to have a new weapon to make fun of him.

“You done eating?” he huffs out, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Why dja care? Gonna gimme a tour around the castle?” Atsumu snorts.

“No, but it would be a shame if you ended up on the fourth floor by accident. _Again_ ,” Shouyou retorts, smiling innocently.

“Oooh low blow, Shouyou-kun. Low blow,” Atsumu’s voice drips off of a faux wound that makes Shouyou smile despite his embarrassment for having been called out like that by the very person his recently-discovered-feelings are for. He throws his thumb over his shoulder to point at the door of the kitchen, waiting for Atsumu to give one last lick to his spoon. “Comin’, comin’. Ya really need ta chill, man.”

Hinata doesn’t say anything while he waits for Atsumu to drop his spoon into the sink. The cocky smile stretching on his lips and the lazy, half-hooded stare he gives to Shouyou make him want to scream. For some reason he doesn’t really understand, he feels like Atsumu noticed his feelings before he did.

Shouyou guides the Prince of Inarizaki around the hallways, halls, and stairs in direction to his room. Like his, Atsumu’s bedroom is on the second floor, although located on the other side of the west wing. For some reason he can’t really understand, he and his retinue (composed by the loyal advisor, Kita-san, and a few other individuals whose functions weren’t really clear for Shouyou) have their rooms as far from Shouyou’s and Natsu’s as possible.

Maybe they need some privacy. Shouyou isn’t really familiarized with Inarizaki’s habits and customs after all.

The hallway that leads to the west wing of the second floor is long and it’s full of doors of different styles that make Shouyou feel a little confused. He’s sure there aren’t that many rooms in this floor and the fact that they have different colours and designs makes everything even weirder. It’s not like they clash, it’s just—

“Cleanin’ cabinets, closets with towels, sheets, duvets…” Atsumu says abruptly, startling Shouyou. He casts a sideway glance towards his companion and catches the exact moment when he chuckles softly under his breath, the sound sending pleasant shivers down Hinata’s spine. “Saw ya lookin’. Ya don’t know what they are, dontcha?”

Shouyou blushes to the root of his hair and chokes on his own spit. Atsumu’s chuckle turns into a full on bark of laughter that sends more shivers down Hinata’s spine; it’s complicated to deal with having realized he’s in love with Atsumu like ten minutes ago and, at the same time, have him laughing like that. It’s just way too much for his poor little heart. If the universe really expects him to manage to behave like a normal human being after the shock of learning that his very rude teacher of… _prince stuff_ makes his heart flutter, then the universe is in for a big disappointment.

“Why’re ya flustered like that all of the sudden?” Atsumu huffs. His words are hidden behind bad conceited amusement and Shouyou isn’t really sure he wants to answer to that question. Atsumu looks way too entertained with his current situation to give him the pleasure of trying to deny that he’s blushing like crazy. “Ya’ve been here for what, four months and ya didn’t know? Shouyou-kun, that’s disappointing. I thought I was teachin’ ya somethin’…”

“You’re not teaching me anything about this castle,” Hinata snorts, rolling his eyes. “You’re just teaching me… _prince stuff_.”

“Roll yer eyes a bit harder and they may pop outta their sockets,” Atsumu jokes, olympically ignoring Shouyou’s last words. The chuckle that follows his teasing vibrates low on his throat and Hinata can’t help to think that this is the first time he’s heard him laughing this much in his presence. “This castle and Inarizaki’s were designed by the same person. It’s the same style fer both of ‘em.”

Hinata lets out a whistle of surprise. _That_ he didn’t know.

“You’re very smart when you’re not picking a fight with me,” Hinata teases. There’s a nervous edge sliding under his voice, the last three words trembling slightly. The feeling is akin to that of the goosebumps spreading across the skin over his ribs when Natsu tickles him to get away with the last serving of pudding in the fridge and he has to bite back a nervous cough to clear his throat. It’s ridiculous.

It’s almost like realizing he’s in love with Atsumu turned him into some sort of hyper-sensitive machine designed to _feel_ the warmth coming from his skin even though they’re walking an entire feet apart. Infuriating. Outrageous. Clownery at its best—

“When ya say it like that,” Atsumu begins, a deep, raspy laughter vibrating in his throat. The sound almost makes Shouyou trip over the carpet and as he gulps, he tries his best to not cast a sideways glance to the man walking besides him. He fails miserably, his eyes falling on his profile just to catch a quick glimpse of his crooked smile, “it almost sounds like ya wanna make out with me or somethin’.”

“Shut up.”

“Look, Shouyou-kun, if ya wanna make out with me, just go ahead and say it.”

“I wanna make out with you.”

They both stop dead in their tracks, Shouyou’s words hanging over their heads as if they’re waiting to fall from the stratosphere. There’s a weight to them that seems to instantaneously electrify the atmosphere and he’s trying his best not to lose it and run for the hills because Atsumu's looking at him in a way he cannot recognize. Something moves behind his irises, burning like fire under a thin layer of ice, so close to lick the surface and finally break the patina that he can almost decipher it if he squints. He’s got the feeling _whatever_ that is, is going to turn him into ashes if he stands too close to him.

Atsumu takes a step forward, reaching out with a quick hand. Hinata only catches the blurry glimpse of it before there’re five fingers gripping at the hem of his shirt and there’s a moment of confusion between his previous words and the realization that he’s being literally dragged through the hallway.

The confusion extends for a few moments and gets thinner by every second that falls from the metaphorical clock that is now Shouyou’s heart. His head is spinning so much that he has to blink to take in his new surroundings, has to bite at the inside of his cheek to be able to register the sounds that try to land in his brain to become something meaningful that goes beyond white noise.

Blinking into the darkness that’s suddenly surrounding him, Hinata wonders if he _somehow_ opened a portal that goes straight to hell. The crazy idea that maybe Atsumu’s a demon who’s there to drag him into the pit for his crimes against intelligence and actually having enough brain cells to know that no, you can’t go around telling people you want to make out with them, seems absolutely plausible at the moment. He frowns slightly before his fingers brush against something that feels like feathers and his entire world comes to an abrupt half that leaves him breathless.

“ _What_ —”

“Cleanin’ cabinet,” comes the answer to the question he doesn’t get a chance to finish. It smells like dust, wood and cleaning products. The distinctive smell of Windex prickles at his nose and he’s five seconds away from sneezing due to the dust floating in the air around him, but the fact that it’s _Atsumu’s voice_ the one that answered makes his brain backpedal so fast it hurts him physically. His head snaps towards the source of the sound, big amber eyes blinking amidst the darkness. “Toldja I could recognize ‘em by the design of the door.”

“Uhm… Atsumu-san?” Hinata breathes out. His back is pressed against the wall of the cabinet and the space is _reduced_. There’s something digging into the muscle of his left thigh and the handle of a broom or a mop is pressing uncomfortably against somewhere near his right shoulder blade. But the thing that overcharges his senses the most is definitely Atsumu’s chest against his, his knee placed roughly in between his thighs. It's _way too close_ to his groin and Shouyou is just about to _snap_. “What’s going on?”

“See, Shouyou-kun,” he begins. His words come out cramped, the sound of his voice thick and heavy. His breath brushes against Hinata’s lips, positively scattering all his thoughts around every single corner of his mind. It feels like his brain cells are too far from each other to be able to make synapse; his thoughts are mere smoke slipping through his fingers to swirl away, there where he cannot reach them. “When ya go and say stuff like that…”

Hinata gulps. He smells like peanut butter and a spicy cologne that sends heat to coil in his stomach, too close to his groin (and therefore to Atsumu’s thigh) for comfort.

“It’s almost like ya mean it, y’know?” he almost _purrs_. Oh, that does a lot of things to Hinata’s stomach and the butterflies that are suddenly choking him. It feels like placing his bare hand over a wire with direct current. “So tell me… were ya bluffin’ or ya really meant it?”

There’s a lump in Shouyou’s throat that makes it almost impossible for him to swallow or breathe. He expected a lot of reactions in the short span of clarity he had when he finally realized where he was, but _this one_ was definitely not amongst the ones he’d come up with. It’s as if Atsumu _wanted_ his answer to be the latter option; it’s tempting and so, so promising Hinata can’t help but dive into the fog the lifts from the corners of his vision.

“What if I meant it?” he challenges. He wishes he could see Atsumu’s face just to see what sort of expression is sitting on his features because he feels him flinching, hears the gasp he produces. Shouyou shivers under the feeling of his hot breath ghosting over his face, so close to his lips that it’s way too easy for him to draw the imaginary line and angle between his and Atsumu’s mouth.

“Oh, Shouyou-kun,” he breathes out, ragged and husky. _Oh shit, oh shit—_ “Is this really how ya wanna play the game? ‘Cause ‘m down for it.”

Hinata laughs softly, trying to pretend he’s not basically melting while standing in the middle of Atsumu’s body and the wall pressing against his back. There’s a split second between him thinking that _maybe_ he should let this go and claim dementia before things get a little more _heated_ but his mouth opens before he can even register it.

“All bark and no bite? Well, Atsumu—”

In hindsight, he should’ve really expected the hot mouth that presses against his, swallowing whatever teasing he was about to babbler.

The kiss is open mouthed and sloppy and it tastes like peanut butter. There’s a sweetness to the flavour of Atsumu’s lips that makes him think of home and the starry nights back there at Miyagi, of cold days spent under a kotatsu after school while eating tangerines. He lets out a sound that’s halfway between a gasp and a moan of surprise, shivering when Atsumu decides that the infinitesimal distance between them is still too much to bear. His body presses a bit harsher into Shouyou’s, the knee in between his thighs finally colliding with his groin and _the friction_ tears out a strangled moan from the deepest part of his throat.

In hindsight, Atsumu should’ve really expected Hinata’s response.

Shouyou’s hands are quick amidst the darkness, fuelled by the heat that coils and boils in his belly. He feels like Atsumu’s mouth has set him on fire and he wants nothing but bring Atsumu down with him. If he _burns_ , the Prince of Inarizaki might as well burn with him.

His fingers entangle in his hair, the soft locks tingling the sensitive underside of the creases, softly caressing his palm. He pulls at it, swallowing the groan that Atsumu muffles against his mouth and Hinata smiles in between the kiss. Atsumu always looks so cocky, so sarcastic… if the world could see him _melting_ under his touch, leaning into his body with an eagerness that doesn’t really feel like a surprise, Hinata wonders what would they say.

It’s not like it really matters, though. None of that matters because this moment belongs to them and them alone, and Atsumu’s tongue slides against his, mapping every inch it can reach. Hinata’s hands slide through his hair to find his neck and draw him in, making Atsumu take half a step forward. The space is reduced and they physically cannot press against each other any further… it’s frustrating, and it’s even more exasperating when the motion generates more friction; Hinata's back arches off of the wall, his chest colliding with the other’s while a new moan makes its way out of his throat.

“Ah fer fuck’s sake,” Atsumu grumbles while his hands move, suddenly reminding Shouyou of their existence, and snake down in between them until his fingers are hooked behind Hinata’s thighs, right below his buttocks, digging into the muscle in a way that tears a surprised mewl out of the shorter’s mouth. Pulling at them, guiding them, Atsumu coaxes him to wrap his legs around his waist. “Now that’s better, ain’t it?”

“Shut up,” Shouyou pants, jerking him down to join their mouths again. Atsumu hums in approval and slides his tongue over his lower lip. It feels like he’s tasting him like someone would do with a good wine and somehow Shouyou thinks of gluttony and eagerness and yearning.

He feels the same. He could devour Atsumu whole, eat him up until he’s nothing but a whiny mess. Hinata wants to erase that always cocky smile for his lips with his own, wants to swallow his sarcastic chuckles. Wants to moan his name until his voice goes hoarse and wants to—

Atsumu’s hips buckle against his, almost experimentally, and the kiss breaks with a simultaneous groan. There’s a curl of heat thrumming through his nerves, sparking something akin to fireworks through his spine with waves of pleasure that reach so deep into him that he feels his own atoms withering under the sensation. His fingers dig into the flesh of the back of Atsumu’s neck while he feels the muscles of his stomach tense.

“Shit,” he hisses through gritted teeth. Atsumu breathes harshly against his dampen lips and the feeling of his silky tongue going over the width of the lower one makes him shiver. It feels like a warning of what is to come, because after a breathless chuckle his hips roll against Hinata’s and he’s whimpering incoherencies.

Shouyou can barely gather his thoughts. The sensorial overcharge has his brain in short circuit and the way Atsumu dives in for what he thinks is another kiss but ends up being a nip to his lower lip coaxes a keen out of him before he realizes it. He’s trying to put everything in order because there’s an overwhelming amount of _hunger_ burning through his veins along with the ridiculous feeling he’s nothing but rubber bones and oversensitive skin.

“‘S that enough makin’ out for ya?” Atsumu teases. The effect is overall ruined by the way he heaves and the way his voice trembles in the darkness of the cleaning cabinet. Shouyou swallows to erase the dryness of his throat and licks at his lips to get rid of the saliva glistening over them. “Or ya want a little more?”

“Finish what you started, you coward,” Hinata challenges. His pants are _tight_ and he might be a mess of exposed nerve ends and shaky words but there’s no way in hell he’s getting out of the cabinet without having released the tension that has him aching all over.

“Oh? And that would be…?”

 _Cocky bastard_.

He leans in and Atsumu welcomes him with parted lips and a skilful tongue that curls around his mouth and yanks at his thoughts. The more the kiss deepens the more scattered Shouyou’s thoughts are and he sighs in between the kiss, circling his arms around Atsumu’s neck to pull him in. His hips roll against the other’s this time and he devours the groan that Atsumu heaves into his mouth; it goes past his lips, and Hinata swallows it, savours it in the back of his throat before leaving a soft mewl muffle in between the contact.

Atsumu’s fingers are still digging into his thighs with a strength that threatens to leave bruises while they fall into a comfortable rhythm for both of them. The cleaning cabinet is filled with moans, groans and whispered instructions that go along the line of “there, there, _like that_ ” and they’re so far gone Hinata doesn’t think he can go back to the real world. The only thing that exists is Atsumu’s tongue curling and sliding against his, their hips undulating at the same pace, meeting halfway while they chase the pleasure that builds higher and bigger with the friction—

The cleaning cabinet’s door opens and Hinata hears the click of the switch in the periphery of his auditory field before the soft glow of the light bulb above them bathes them with a mellow yellow hue. His head snaps toward the new light source while he pants for air, blushed to the root of his hair and with Atsumu’s hands undoing the button of his jeans. It’s like the entire world has come to a halt with the sound of a phone going off in a distance that shortens with every passing second.

_A phone?_

Shouyou’s eyes fall from the door to Atsumu’s pocket. He can feel the vibration of the device against his thigh.

“What,” he breathes out, blinking in confusion. His stare finds Atsumu’s profile and when he follows the imaginary line drawn by the direction his eyes are following, he finds Daichi and Kita standing out of the cleaning cabinet.

“Ah,” Kita says, blinking at them. There’s a slight blush on his cheeks that mirrors Daichi’s and Hinata is sure he should be ashamed but his brain is still too fogged with lust to think.

“Kita-san. Hello,” Atsumu greets, clearing his throat with a dry cough that could’ve made Hinata laugh if he hadn’t been so out of it. The situation hasn’t landed on his brain yet and he’s trying his best to keep up with the world out of the cleaning cabinet but his tongue is still coated with the after taste of peanut butter and Atsumu’s mind. “I— dja need somethin’?”

Kita hawks a few times before looking at the phone in his hand. His thumb slides over the screen and the ringtone coming from Atsumu’s, along with the vibration, stop.

 _Oh_.

“Evidently,” he confirms.

_Oh fuck._

“Oh shit,” Hinata hisses, pushing Atsumu away from him so he can stand on his feet again. The world tilts on its axis and he has to press his hand flat against the wall to hold himself upright. “Uhm, Daichi-san, I—”

“Getting along just fine, aren’t you?” he chuckles.

“I guess the arranged marriage won’t be a problem anymore, right?”

Kita’s words swirl for a few seconds in the air. Hinata can almost see them written over their heads with silver ink, shining with a glow that looks very much like that of the neon signs.

_That makes sense… why else would the Inarizaki Royal Family let their heir stay in a foreign country this long…?_

“The _what_?!”

**Author's Note:**

> That's all from me for today! I hope you enjoyed this shenanigan I dare to call a fic because HONESTLY that ending is just... what the hell did I do there ksdjfhs. 
> 
> I'm so sorry, I just had a ton of side prompts in my head for today's entry and I said "well, maybe I can mix them a little" and that I did. Maybe I will continue this? Maybe not? We might never know ;)
> 
> A huge shoutout to the Hyphen Reader, Rex, and Loo. I love all three of you. Your comments (either here or on Twitter) really make me melt. 
> 
> Remember to scream at me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Xhiiluh) and/or [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/Xhiiluh)! I'm always available for screaming into The Void™, screaming about this precious ship or just down-right screaming for the sake of it. 
> 
> See y'all tomorrow! 


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